UCC providing free Chinese lessons for five councillors and 18 County Council staff

FIVE Cork county councillors and 18 members of staff are learning Chinese as part of an eight-week course being provided free of charge by UCC.

The Chinese classes for the staff and councillors are part of a collaborative programme between the Council and the Confucius Institute of UCC, whereby the Confucius Institute provides two teachers, once a week, to teach the Chinese classes in County Hall.

A Council spokesperson told The Echo that the council has a long-standing "sister-region partnership" with Jiangsu province in China. 

"As part of this relationship, the Council has hosted a number of official delegations from cities throughout Jiangsu Province to strengthen co-operation in areas such as trade, education, culture, science and technology, research, and innovation. Recent visits to County Hall have included delegations from Nanjing and Yangzhou."

The councillors and staff have started receiving in-person and hybrid lessons on a weekly basis which will continue until the end of November.

The course is providing ‘practical basic Chinese words, phrases, greetings and cultural awareness which can be beneficial in the workplace and in business,’ the spokesperson added.

Both the oldest and youngest councillors have embraced it.

Fianna Fail councillor Frank O’Flynn, who’s the oldest member taking the course, said it gives an insight into Chinese culture.

“I have found that Chinese language is different to other writing and is more complex. The writing is different and characters involve strokes up, down left and right and need a lot of practice to learn the shapes, characters, sounds and letters. While the course is challenging, I am up for it, and it is an enjoyable learning experience,” he said.

Mr O’Flynn was recently invited to represent the council at a special function in Dublin hosted by the Chinese ambassador to celebrate the 77th anniversary of foundation of the People’s Republic of China.

The youngest member of the council, Independent councillor Ben Dalton-O’Sullivan, said it’s an opportunity to learn some of the basics of the language during a lunch break.

“I like the idea of continuous learning. So, when the opportunity came along, I thought, why not? It’s a good opportunity to learn the basics of a language. I’m enjoying the classes which are once a week, and look forward to the next few weeks,” he said.

Chinese students represent the second highest number of foreign-born students attending UCC.